Dear Dr. Spiegel,
I sure hope that you can help me. I am taking care of three cats – one indoor female and two outdoor males, ages 12, 10, and six. My daughter moved and couldn’t take her cats because the landlord didn’t want animals. She pays for their food and visits to the vet. One of the males had a broken leg which cost close to $1000 to fix and care for. They are all loveable and very much attached to me, and I them.
My problem is I will be moving soon and cannot take the cats. My daughter and I cannot talk about their future without getting upset. We cannot just leave them, and she doesn’t want to part with them. So we’ve decided it’s best to put them to sleep. We just don’t know what else to do. This may sound cruel to you, but we will have piece of mind knowing they won’t be hurting or face another winter like last year.
Please, and I beg you, is there any way I can be assured that these cats will be put to sleep and cremated and not used for experiments or dissected. Please is there anything else we can do?
Desperate Mother & Daughter
Elsmere
Dear Desperate,
After a thousand dollars in vet bills, I would hope that you have formed a good relationship with your veterinarian and can trust his or her integrity. Most veterinarians are particularly caring and compassionate people. However, if you are still uncertain, assuring the outcome you have chosen for your cats is as simple as remaining in the room with them when they are put down. The procedure is quick and painless, though I would expect your conscience might suffer considerably more than the cats.
While you may feel that no one could possibly love these cats as much, or care for them as well, as you, you’d be surprised how many people are out there who share that same love and concern for their own animals and others. Placing your cats in another home can require a good bit of work, but you benefit by the control you can have in choosing who will assume the responsibility of their care. Placing them in a shelter is certainly a simpler solution, however, you lose the ability to guide their adoption. And while many shelters will euthanize animals that they are unable to place, others like the Delaware Humane Association are “no-kill” shelters, limiting the numbers of animals they accept, but keeping them until they are adopted out.
Why not get a place where you and your daughter can live with these cats. There are always ways when the will is there!